WASHINGTON — Gabe Bankman-Fried understands it might be difficult to accept his claim that he solely intends to use his brother’s vast cryptocurrency wealth to prevent future pandemics.
“If there’s some hidden crypto agenda here, I’m completely unaware of it,” stated Bankman-Fried, the younger of two brothers from the millennial generation who are expected to significantly impact the spheres of politics and charitable giving. “My only true goal is to stop the next pandemic… I believe people will eventually see that.”
Gabe’s older brother, Sam, 30, the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, is estimated to be worth upwards of $20 billion. Sam’s significant financial contributions to Democratic congressional primaries this year – at least $18.6 million – have confused and irritated political strategists, candidates, and journalists. And this is only the beginning.
The Bankman-Fried brothers have given few interviews regarding their political activities, but they spoke with NBC News to share details about their political operations.
“We have ambitious goals and plan to make a considerable impact,” Gabe Bankman-Fried explained. “We definitely haven’t reached our spending limit yet.”
Democrats from across the ideological spectrum view “Protect Our Future,” a PAC mainly funded by Sam Bankman-Fried, with a blend of apprehension and envy, since it has backed candidates identified with both progressive and moderate wings of the party.
This spending has prompted inquisitive news headlines regarding the “mystery PAC” behind it. Many opponents and observers have claimed that the billionaire, who is based in the Bahamas, is attempting to purchase congressional seats and establish a “Colony Ruled by a Distant Crypto Prince,” as the alternative newspaper Willamette Week described it after “Protect Our Future” spent over $11 million supporting a relatively unknown candidate in a highly competitive Oregon congressional primary, making it the most expensive House race in the country so far this year.
That candidate, Carrick Flynn, suffered a significant loss in Tuesday’s primary despite the enormous financial support, even though the PAC achieved victories in two other primaries in other states that same day.
“I’m clearly disappointed with the outcome in Oregon, but excited that Valerie Foushee and Morgan McGarvey won their primaries in North Carolina and Kentucky,” stated Sam Bankman-Fried. “And I anticipate having two strong advocates for pandemic prevention in Congress when they secure their victories this fall.”
Critics view the spending as a component of the cryptocurrency industry’s growing effort to gain influence in Washington, dismissing the discussion of pandemic prevention as merely a public relations tactic.
However, both brothers and those close to them insist that this perspective misrepresents their motivations.
They maintain they are inspired by the “earn to give” model and the effective altruism movement, a data-driven approach to philanthropy and life that encourages individuals to commit themselves to maximizing good for the greatest number of people, based on statistical analysis.
The brothers were exposed to these concepts from an early age by their parents, who are both law professors at Stanford University.
Their father once delayed a kitchen renovation to use the funds to hire a lobbyist in his idealistic quest to have the government handle Americans’ tax filings. And their mother’s work in the philosophical field of consequentialism “is at the root of Effective Altruism and has guided all four of our lives,” Sam wrote on Twitter. “In fact, many (effective altruists) knew of her work before they knew me.”
“Protect Our Future” invested heavily in Flynn – the PAC spent more in the Oregon race than it did in the eight other races it has been involved so far, combined – because Flynn originated from the effective altruism community, researching topics such as pandemic prevention at an Oxford University center that serves as a central academic hub for the movement.
Effective altruists generally prioritize “long-tail risks” – events with a low probability but pose an existential threat to humanity. They seek opportunities where they can maximize the impact of their resources.
Gabe Bankman-Fried explained that while climate change and nuclear war already receive significant attention, pandemic prevention is relatively neglected. Consequently, they decided to focus on this issue due to its significance and a newfound “political opportunity” created by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“No one supports pandemics, but pandemic prevention and biosecurity have millions of supporters and no champions,” said Gabe Bankman-Fried. “It’s an uphill battle to get members of Congress to care about and actually prioritize an issue.”
The brothers aim to support the election of lawmakers who will promote legislation to prepare for the next pandemic through measures such as strengthening biosecurity regulations, proactively funding vaccine development for future pathogens, increasing stockpiles of personal protective equipment, and modifying building codes to minimize germ transmission.
They also invested $12 million to include a measure on the California ballot that would raise taxes on wealthy individuals to finance pandemic prevention initiatives in the state.
However, skeptics have noted that some of the group’s “champions” also happen to be vocal proponents of the cryptocurrency industry, such as Rep. Richie Torres, D-N.Y., who has publicly asserted that liberals should embrace the industry.
Sam Bankman-Fried has donated $2 million to an industry PAC with the stated objective of supporting candidates favorable to cryptocurrency. He has also spread his donations around to a diverse array of candidates, which is common practice for businesses seeking to maintain access to Capitol Hill. He’s also testified before Congress several times on crypto regulation.
Due to campaign finance regulations, the brothers collaborate through a somewhat complicated process.
Gabe Bankman-Fried leads an organization named “Guarding Against Pandemics,” which operates as a 501(c)4 nonprofit. This group evaluates and endorses candidates from both parties who it believes will be strong advocates for pandemic prevention.
“Protect Our Future,” managed by Democratic political operatives, then designs and executes campaigns to support some of the Democratic candidates – but not Republicans – endorsed by Gabe Bankman-Fried’s group.
Another FTX billionaire, co-CEO Ryan Salame, recently launched his own PAC to support ″forward-looking” Republicans.
The individuals managing “Protect Our Future” are affiliated with a decentralized network of data-driven Democratic operatives and writers sometimes referred to as “Popularists”. Sean McElwee, the founder of the progressive think tank Data for Progress, has provided them with counsel.
“We’ll be eagerly looking for more champions who we can support to move this important work forward,” said Michael Sadowsky, the president of Protect Our Future.